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In a 1984 Supreme Court Decision…

Date: 06.30.14

In a 1984 Supreme Court decision, the court held that the public trust doctrine to determine the applicability of the constitutional provision on public access does not apply to an area of tide and submerged lands if all the following apply:

a) The tide and submerged lands were part of a Mexican land grant (i.e., grants issued to individuals by the Mexican Governor of California prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848);

b) Those lands were patented by the federal government through a process established to protect the property rights of Mexican landowners, which was an obligation the U.S. committed to under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; and

c) The federal patent was confirmed without any mention of a public trust easement.